Blackout
by Cravenkun
Summary: In the event of a blackout due to a malfunctioning -inator, Perry the Platypus comforts Heinz in the only way he can.


It's night and the power is out at DEI from the explosion of a storm-causing-inator. Basically, the room is pitch black. Perry was fortunate enough to have enough sense about him to take stock in his surroundings when he realized what was going on before the power went out, but Heinz was still out of it from the tackle Perry inflicted on him and didn't get the chance to check his surroundings.

"P-Perry the Platypus? Wheeeere are you...? Are you still here? Please don't tell me you left. Y-you still have to thwart me you know. You think a little darkness is gonna scare me now? N-not likely, haha..."

And really, Perry should be gone, honestly he should (his job here is done) but Heinz's voice is doing that hitching thing when he's close to tears and Perry knows that he's scared of being left alone, and no, it's not just because a part of Perry can relate to that, not at all. But that's beside the point because right now Heinz needs him, not as his nemesis, not as a secret agent who just literally threw him into darkness and fear (it had been Heinz hitting the inator after a particularly well-aimed punch that had set it off earlier) but as Perry the Platypus.  
Heinz is still talking and Perry uses the sound as a guide to where he is huddled in the dark.

"...I guess the back-up generator hasn't started up because I forgot to pay the bill for it again... Maybe Charlene was right when she said that I couldn't handle paying my own bills myself... I mean, I can't even handle being left alone after my nemesis has finished his job... Not that I'd want him to see me like this, haha..."

Perry doesn't hesitate when he reaches out for the hand that he knows is fisted on the floor next to Heinz's knee. Not even when Heinz pulls back as if shocked and makes an exclamation of surprise.

"I-is that you? P-Perry the Platypus?! I thought you were gone!"

Perry ignores Heinz, his blathering is inconsequential right now, what's more important is getting him up.

"Y-you want me to get up? Okay, hold on, I-I think I can manage that."

Even though Perry can feel the vibrations through the floor indicating that Heinz is shaky on his feet, he's still standing and Perry considers that a success. Now to get him moving.

"...Are you trying to lead me somewhere, Perry the Platypus? I don't know... I can't really see anything in front of me right now."

Perry can see though. Or at least, he can remember what he saw before the blackout happened and knows that only a few paces behind Heinz is the couch, miraculously left intact even with the explosion earlier. Heinz seems highly reluctant to move forward though, so Perry takes matters into his own hands.

"H-hey! ...Oh, are you trying to guide me, Perry the Platypus? I hope you know what you're doing, you know."

Perry doesn't offer a reply, just keeps his grip reassuring and confidant on Heinz's labcoat as he pushes forward to make Heinz go backwards. Perry knows when Heinz's legs have hit the couch by the 'oof' noise he makes and how his center of gravity shifts so that both of them are dragged down to be half-sprawled on the couch cushions. It's not an ideal position, but it'll have to do for now as Perry senses Heinz's anxiety once more increasing.

"Wh-where are we? Is this the couch? I thought we were going to find a flashlight, Perry the Platypus, you know where I always keep those. This-this is Perry the Platypus, riiiight?"

Perry reassures Heinz in the only way he knows how. When Heinz reaches out hesitantly, he lets the hand fall on top of his fedora-clad head and can almost taste the recognition dawning on Heinz. It's not enough though, his heart is still beating irregularly and he's still asking ridiculous questions ("Oh, it is you... why are you still here?") and being very much someone that Perry wants to comfort right now.

It's true that Perry knows of some ways of calming the humans in his life - it's not uncommon for a Flynn-Fletcher to seek him out for hugs and pettings during times of high stress or anxiety. With this thought in mind, Perry is thankful to every deity that he knows of that Monogram is a cheapskate and refuses to spend agency money on thermal night cameras to see in the dark. It doesn't help that he knows his face would be fairly red if anyone were to be able to look at it now. Luckily, Heinz still can't see anything and doesn't seem to suspect anything as Perry reaches up to take his hand from the top of his head and into one of his own.

"...Perry the Platypus?"

Perry quietly chatters but doesn't let go of Heinz's hand and instead guides the fingers to move from his head to rest atop his back as he stretches out awkwardly across Heinz's lap. Perry reflects that he's really glad that it's too dark to see much of anything because even though he knows that Heinz is sitting in front of the couch with his back to the cushions and Perry is basically laying on his lap, with Heinz's fingers automatically tangling themselves in his fur at the contact, he can pretend that it's not actually happening.

"Hmm, Perry the Platypus you have really soft fur, you know that?"

He knows and at that moment, as Heinz finally relaxes and is probably closing his eyes as he leans back into the couch while petting Perry, he is grateful for it. As Heinz's fingers run smoothly through his fur, calming both of them at the same time, the darkness doesn't feel quite so oppressive and Perry can even feel an upward quirk tugging at his beak. Encompassed by the dark, Perry smiles as Heinz quietly pets him. Darkness isn't truly darkness if you're not alone.


End file.
